Meet the Indian naval commander sailing around the world using just a compass, maps and the stars

Abhilash Tomy is planning the impossible

Fifty years ago, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston became the first person to perform a non-stop unassisted circumnavigation of the globe. To commemorate the English sailor’s achievement, 18 skippers will be racing to accomplish the same feat at the Golden Globe Race 2018 (GGR), using the same equipment that was available in 1968. Among them is Indian Naval Commander Abhilash Tomy, a special invitee. The race will begin at Les Sables d’Olonne in France on July 1, 2018, and ends at Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, in the summer of 2019.

“The race is a solo, nonstop and unassisted race. This means that I have to be alone all through, I cannot stop anywhere and I cannot take any assistance en route. I cannot even take a paper clip!” Abhilash Tomy says. “I have to pass through two gates during the race. The first gate is the Canaries Gate of Lanzarotte and the second one is the Storm Bay Gate in Tasmania. At both places I can give some things out of the boat: letters, film rolls etc., but I cannot take anything on board. Any contact with a person outside will surely get me disqualified.”

Tomy is setting sail on board the 10-metre Thuriya, a replica of the Suhaili, which was used by Sir Knox-Johnston during his victory. The Suhaili was built in Mumbai, and its replica was constructed not too far away, in Goa. “She is a very small boat for big seas. That makes her slower. She’s a 1923 designed long keel boat which makes her less manoeuvrable too. The circumnavigation could take around 300 or more days, which means I need to carry more supplies, weighing down the boat even more, making her even slower. Besides, I need to make space for one year worth supplies! Thuriya tends to roll much more, tiring out the sailor.”

Going around the world without modern technology, GPS-aided navigation and satellite communication may seem like a daunting expedition, but Tomy has been preparing for it since 2016. Apart from sourcing items for the boat and making it ready for sea according to the requirements, he had to take a medical course, a survival course, and get a radio operator certificate. “Besides that, I had to brush up on celestial navigation and the complex calculations that it offers to arrive at a reasonable solution. I also did a few solo sails to get used to the boat. Some of these were off Goa. I also did a sailing from the Netherlands to Falmouth through the North Sea and then the English Channel, and then to Les Sables d’Olonne through the Bay of Biscay.”

He had first circumnavigated the globe in 2012-13, becoming the first Indian and second Asian to achieve the feat by sailing for 151 days in INS Mhadei. “At the Sagarparikrama (the first circumnavigation), I had used GPS-based maps and other satellite-based technologies. But at GGR, I have to make do with a compass, printed maps, and star and planetary movements. There is a solitary HF radio set for contact. The size of the boat limits the possibility to carry water. Sir Robin had used rain water; I will have to do the same. There is no help from the outside world throughout the race.”

Abhilash Tomy is looking forward to going back to the roots of seamanship, and the elongated period of solitude. Without GPS for support, he has to go back to the olden ways of calculating his location and path forward. He says, “The calculations to find out your position are enormous. It is almost half an hour’s work to get one position line. One must remember that scientific calculators are not permitted (this would have reduced calculations to about five minutes per position line). One also needs to carry mechanical watch (no electronic or digital watches are permitted) which needs to keep accurate time. A slip of one minute can put your position off by many miles. It is of paramount importance to correct your watch every day. Since there is no GPS and satellite communications, one has to take a time signal from short wave radios. The sextant itself, which is used to determine the angles of celestial bodies, must be treated with care and corrected every now and then. “

There is no help for him to accurately predict the weather. “There is nothing to give you timely and meaningful information. So you just play it by the ear and take things as them come. Batten down in a storm, wear more clothes when it’s cold, and so on.”

Along with a lot of safety equipment, 140 litres of fuel, and four 10 kg gas cylinders, Abhilash is carrying his meals for almost a year on this journey. “I am carrying many pre-cooked ready-to-eat meals. I also have 400 packets of freeze dry, 25 kilos of rice, 200 tins of tuna, sardines and sausages, as well as snacks, dry fruits, coffee, sugar, loaves of bread, fresh vegetables, energy bars and about 340 litres of water. The energy requirement is about 4,000 calories per day which converts to 12 lakh calories or 50 lakh joules through the race. Even if you have all this food, you still lose about 15 kilos of weight.”

The Golden Globe Race 2018 was flagged off on July 1. Abhilash Tomy is aiming to complete the race in 311 days, one day less than Sir Johntson’s timing. The Golden Globe Race website will be posting one way text messages, sound bites, and position updates on their website. His team will also be posting updates on his Facebook page. His entry is mainly sponsored by the Indian Navy. Aquarius Shipyard Ltd and Goa Shipyard Ltd are also supporting and sponsoring it. The equipment is sponsored by Elcome (communications), Windpilot (autopilot), Decathlon (clothing) and Jellyfish Water Sports (water maker).